Conversehttp://www.adweek.com/taxonomy/term/3409/all
enConverse Blows Up Chuck II to Show Off the New Sneaker's Snazzy Insideshttp://www.adweek.com/adfreak/converse-blows-chuck-ii-show-new-sneakers-snazzy-insides-166196
David Gianatasio<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/blogs/converse-explosion-hed-2015.png"> <p>
Converse&#39;s <a href="/node/166061">Chuck Taylor II All-Stars</a> debut with a bang, literally, in the Nike brand&#39;s &quot;Ready for More&quot; campaign touting its highly anticipated line extension.</p>
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Ad agency Anomaly and visual-effects firm Framestore produced an explosive spot that shows a Chuck II high-top flying apart in super-slow-motion, impressively revealing the comfort technology within. As bits of rubber and canvas drift in all directions, the camera lingers on the padded sockliner, non-slip tongue and perforated suede lining, with each component identified for viewers.</p>
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Ultimately, the sneaker comes back together like new, which probably wouldn&#39;t happen if you blew one up for real. (Still, I&#39;d be glad to give it a try.)<br />
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It&#39;s a cool, memorable way to expose the soul (along with the sole) of the reboot. I prefer its destructive simplicity to the bombast of a 30-second online spot that offers throbbing guitar riffs and cascading imagery of city skateboarders, motorcyclists, painters and rock bands, all wearing Chuck IIs. Reminds me of Dr. Martens&#39; <a href="http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/dr-martens-stands-nonconformity-mostly-selling-lots-shoes-151677">anti-establishment appeals,</a> with fast beats and flashy editing standing in for substance.</p>
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Of course, Converse does have street cred in the creative community. Its footwear has long been popular with artists and musicians. Anomaly&#39;s recent &quot;Made by You&quot; push for classic Chucks scored by exploring the unique worlds of such individuals, showcasing both average folks and celebrities. This approach would have been a fine fit for the Chuck II, and hopefully the campaign will eventually step in that direction.<br />
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For now, we&#39;re stuck with hipster clich&eacute;s and a voiceover extolling, &quot;More good stuff. More bad stuff. More your stuff. Whatever it is&mdash;more you!&quot;</p>
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Sorry, Chuck, but it&#39;s all a tad II much.</p>
Advertising & BrandingAnomalyConverseFootwearCreativeAgencyFri, 31 Jul 2015 15:30:37 +0000166196 at http://www.adweek.comConverse Unveils the Chuck Taylor II. Here's What It Looks Like, and How They'll Market Ithttp://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/converse-unveils-chuck-taylor-ii-heres-what-it-looks-and-how-theyll-market-it-166061
David Gianatasio<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/converse-chuck-2-hed-2015.jpg"> <p>
Converse gives its product line a fresh kick today, as the Nike brand unveils a new version of its iconic rubber-toed, canvas Chuck Taylor sneaker.</p>
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Dubbed the Chuck Taylor All Star II, the line extension marks an effort by Converse to update the shoe for contemporary consumers, while retaining the basic attributes that have made Chucks exceedingly popular, particularly with artists, musicians, designers and other members of the creative crowd.</p>
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&quot;The Chuck is nearly 100 years old, and for the most part, it&#39;s basically the same sneaker that it&#39;s always been,&quot; Geoff Cottrill, Converse&#39;s vp and general manager of brand and segments, tells Adweek. &quot;We&#39;ve been spending a lot of time in the last two, three, four years with consumers, asking them, What do they need from us, what do they want?&quot;</p>
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Specifically, Converse queried fans what features would get them to wear Chucks &quot;24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year,&quot; says Cottrill.<br />
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Not surprisingly, improved comfort was a key request, and the Chuck II aims to please via Nike&#39;s Lunarlon foam cushioning and extra arch support, as well as a non-slip tongue and perforated micro-suede liner, which lets the shoe &quot;breathe&quot; during extended periods of wear.</p>
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&quot;I don&#39;t think about it as a rebirth or a restating,&quot; says Cottrill. &quot;I look on it as a step forward. Brand and product have to evolve over time with consumer needs in the marketplace. &hellip; This isn&#39;t a radical change at all.&quot;</p>
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Indeed, the men&#39;s, women&#39;s and kid&#39;s iterations of the Chuck II are instantly familiar.<br />
The new sneaker is, perhaps, more streamlined, but the telltale All-Star patch, high foxing and monochrome matte eyelets remain.</p>
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&quot;It is a perfect time to introduce this new shoe,&quot; says Matt Powell, a sports industry analyst at the NPD Group. &quot;We have seen major advances in lightweight and comfortable materials in the last few years. The original Chuck Taylor is stiff and heavy. This new shoe will improve both weight and comfort.&quot;</p>
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Andy Annunziata, vp of retail solutions and analysis at SportsOneSource, agrees. &quot;From a fashion perspective, it&#39;s a fabulous idea,&quot; he says. &quot;It&#39;s a hot category. &#39;Lifestyle-Fashion-Athletic&#39; is trending well right now.&quot;</p>
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<strong>Chuck II: Ready for More</strong></p>
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Last week, Converse teased the Chuck II, creating enigmatic clips that showcased the &quot;II&quot; in unexpected ways. In one spot from <a href="http://mrdiv.tumblr.com" target="_blank">Mr Div,</a> the Roman numerals form a dizzying retro-Dr.-Who-style undulating tunnel. In another from <a href="http://www.joehamilton.info" target="_blank">Joe Hamilton,</a> the &quot;II&quot; was rendered in bold illustrated form against a rugged landscape in which the only movement came from ragged clouds covering the sun and the surging water of a lonely stream.<br />
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<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/2015_Jul/chuck-taylor-2.gif" width="360" /></p>
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<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/2015_Jul/chuck-taylor-1.gif" width="480" /><br />
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An Anomaly campaign tagged &quot;Ready for More&quot; will support the Chuck II when the shoes go on sale worldwide next week. The work will use all media channels &quot;short of TV,&quot; says Cottrill.</p>
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It will run in conjunction with Anomaly&#39;s &quot;Made by You&quot; campaign for the classic Chuck line. Launched in March, that initiative mixes images of regular folks wearing their Converse sneakers with portraits of Chuck-clad celebrities such as actress Joanna DeLane, musician King Tuff and artist Ron English. Immersive 360-degree images were achieved via Google&#39;s Cardboard virtual-reality platform.</p>
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Naturally, the Chuck II ads will be designed to appeal to Converse&#39;s core creative audience. &quot;I&#39;d go so far as to say that the creative world is responsible for who we are today as a brand,&quot; notes Cottrill, though Converse also plans to cast a wide net. &quot;The Chuck is one of those brands that spans multiple generations and all kinds of demographics. So, this isn&#39;t the kind of product we&#39;re going to target against one particular demographic.&quot;</p>
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<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/2015_Jul/converse-chuck-2-4.jpg" width="652" /></p>
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<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/2015_Jul/converse-chuck-2-5.jpg" width="652" /></p>
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Several sneaker brands have been retooling lately. Both <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ad-day-adidas-comes-out-swinging-big-new-brand-campaign-162944">Adidas</a> and its <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ad-day-reebok-wants-you-be-better-human-not-just-better-athlete-162649">Reebok</a> unit launched major campaigns this year, touting their gear as the perfect fit for average folks dedicated to competing and keeping fit. And <a href="http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/taylor-swift-stars-global-rebrand-keds-ladies-first-1916-166018">Keds</a> this week introduced a Taylor Swift-driven brand platform with a female empowerment theme.</p>
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Converse&#39;s move runs deeper, as it doesn&#39;t just refine the brand message but also extends the company&#39;s flagship sneaker. Cottrill says he isn&#39;t concerned about diluting the brand and winding up with a New Coke situation, because the Chuck II &quot;takes the core elements of the classic Chuck Taylor and just enhances them.&quot;</p>
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And of course, the classic model is here to stay. &quot;Not all consumers want a new Chuck. Some people think it&#39;s the most comfortable sneaker in the world. We don&#39;t plan to take that away,&quot; Cottrill says.</p>
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<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/2015_Jul/converse-chuck-2-6.jpg" width="652" /></p>
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<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/2015_Jul/converse-chuck-2-7.jpg" width="652" /></p>
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Converse has seen an upswing in recent years, boosting revenue 6 percent (14 percent on a constant currency basis) to $435 million in revenue for its fourth quarter ended May 31. For the full fiscal year, revenue rose 18 percent (21 percent in constant currencies) to $2 billion. (Verifiable sales figures for Chucks are hard to come by, but Annunziata says the brand currently ranks among the top five in U.S. athletic footwear market share, according to point-of-sales data compiled by SportScanInfo.)</p>
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&quot;We have a tremendous amount of positive momentum in the marketplace right now,&quot; says Cottrill. &quot;At the same time, there are some consumer opportunities and consumer needs. We plan to meet those needs.&quot;</p>
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<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/2015_Jul/converse-chuck-2-8.jpg" width="652" /></p>
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<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/2015_Jul/converse-chuck-2-1.jpg" width="652" /></p>
Advertising & BrandingAnomalyChuck Taylor All StarsConverseFootwearRetailDavid GianatasioAgencyThu, 23 Jul 2015 17:00:01 +0000166061 at http://www.adweek.comHow Doug Ellin Turned Entourage Into the New Paragon of Product Placementhttp://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/how-doug-ellin-turned-entourage-new-paragon-product-placement-165084
T.L. Stanley<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/0601_adw_cov-01-2015.jpg"> <p>
For filmmaker Doug Ellin, who is as passionate about cars as he is movies, it was love at first sight.</p>
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A few years ago, Ellin&mdash;creator of HBO&#39;s brilliant Hollywood send-up Entourage and director and writer of the big-screen version of the adventures of Vince and his band of bros, which hits theaters this week&mdash;toured General Motors&#39; design bunker in Los Angeles, a place, it has been said, that&#39;s harder to get into than the headquarters of the CIA. That&#39;s where he came face-to-grill with the Cadillac Ciel, a sleek, black convertible with suicide doors.</p>
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It set Ellin&#39;s creative wheels in motion, inspiring him to write the concept car into the script of the Entourage movie back when the project was still in its nascent stages. (In fact, the film hadn&#39;t even been green-lit.) Meanwhile, GM had produced a single prototype of the Ciel and had only tentative plans for its launch.</p>
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&quot;Making an integration look natural to the storyline&quot; is a key challenge with any movie, says Cadillac brand strategist&nbsp;Melody Lee.</p>
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None of that dissuaded Ellin, who saw the Ciel as the perfect carrot for brash agent Ari Gold (played by Jeremy Piven) to dangle before his actor client Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier). The car would become both a plot point and a brass ring, a way to reunite the two characters for a new, high-stakes, big-money adventure. &quot;I was obsessed with it,&quot; Ellin says of the Ciel. &quot;It reminded me of a futuristic version of the Lincoln that&#39;s in the opening credits of the Entourage TV show. It sparked a script idea for me because it was a perfect match for the Entourage vibe.&quot;</p>
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Then, in a most dramatic twist, GM decided not to launch the Ciel after all, informing Ellin it would remain merely a glamorous, one-of-a-kind object to be trotted out at auto shows.</p>
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But for Ellin, the dream ride just wouldn&#39;t die.</p>
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The filmmaker and GM would develop a close relationship thanks to the marketing unit of powerhouse talent shop Creative Artists Agency, which represents both Ellin and the automaker. The result? The Ciel, as well as Cadillac&#39;s redesigned Escalade SUV and its ELR plug-in hybrid, all landed roles in the $30 million Warner Bros. feature. Beyond that, the Ciel stars alongside Piven in an original short film, Ari Gold Is Back, that bridges the gap between the end of the Emmy-winning HBO series and the film.</p>
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It points to an evolution for Ellin and the Entourage franchise, which, much like its characters, is maturing. Ellin populated the series about rags-to-riches movie star Vince and his crew with the characters&#39; favored brands&mdash;among them, Apple, Ferrari, Johnnie Walker and <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/tequila-avi-n-rolls-big-entourage-107786" target="_blank">Tequila Avi&oacute;n</a>&mdash;while turning away others. (The parade of marketers hoping to get a shot in the storyline swelled as the show grew in popularity over its eight seasons.) HBO does not allow for paid promotions, but the show did famously feature product placements for everything from Gulfstream to Gatorade. Now, with the much-anticipated release of the Entourage movie, Ellin has been involved not only in forging brand alliances but also instrumental in bringing them to life via the big screen and other original content.</p>
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&quot;We didn&#39;t want anything that felt gratuitous,&quot; says Melody Lee, Cadillac&#39;s director of brand and reputation strategy. &quot;And that&#39;s always the tricky part, making an integration look natural to the storyline. This evolved into a really collaborative process.&quot;</p>
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The timing of the Entourage tie-in was no accident. Cadillac was, as it happened, readying a major rebranding, including an Escalade relaunch with the tagline <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ad-day-cadillacs-dare-greatly-launch-spot-has-teddy-roosevelt-no-car-163017" target="_blank">&quot;Dare greatly.&quot;</a> GM execs sought ways to ignite buzz among trendsetters, and embedding the Cadillac brand in a name-dropping, art-imitates-life-imitates-art flick about four boys from Queens living large in Tinseltown seemed like just the ticket. (The L.A. setting of Entourage stands in contrast with Cadillac&#39;s decidedly New York identity. The company recently moved its HQ from Detroit to Manhattan&#39;s SoHo, where Publicis&#39; TV spots, featuring the cobblestone streets and Italian restaurants so identified with the neighborhood, were shot.)&nbsp;</p>
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Doug Ellin. Photo: Rainer Hosch</p>
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On the HBO series, the Escalade was the ride of choice for character Turtle (Jerry Ferrara), Ellin seeing it as just the right set of wheels for the baller. (Ellin himself grew up in a Caddy household. To prove to the neighbors he&#39;d arrived, his dad insisted on parking the car in the driveway rather than the garage of the family&#39;s Long Island home.)</p>
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CAA put Ellin and GM together &quot;to try to create real human relationships and see what those might lead to,&quot; says Jae Goodman, chief creative officer and co-head of CAA Marketing. &quot;What we were looking for was something meaningful.&quot;</p>
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Across the industry, there&#39;s a growing appetite for such alliances, as marketers move beyond traditional product placement. As Cadillac&#39;s Lee says, &quot;Anyone can take movie footage, add cars and call it a day.&quot; That&#39;s no longer good enough for making an impression on consumers submerged in content. From native ads to products written into scripts, marketers want messaging that looks less like advertising and more like an element of the content.</p>
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And from film and TV producers to YouTube and Vine stars, the creative community is becoming more open to these relationships&mdash;even courting them. Forerunners to Ellin&#39;s Cadillac partnership include Michael Bay&#39;s Chevrolet tie-in with DreamWorks/Paramount&#39;s Transformers and Dodge&#39;s role in Universal&#39;s Fast and Furious franchise.</p>
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Jeff Greenfield, COO and co-founder of ad-measurement firm C3 Metrics, sees Entourage as &quot;a unique piece of content&quot; in that it is &quot;tailor-made for brand integrations.&quot;</p>
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Might it inspire still more movie-brand mashups? &quot;It wouldn&#39;t surprise me if this is seen as a model moving forward,&quot; Greenfield says. &quot;Studios will want to green-light more projects like this and get brands involved, but you have to have a hot property. Entourage had its pick of brands, and in that way, it&#39;ll be a tough act to follow.&quot;</p>
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The Entourage TV series achieved massive cultural influence, with fans repeating its characters&#39; catchphrases (&quot;Hug it out&quot;) and aspiring to the ostentatious, rock-star lifestyle it displayed, trend forecaster Maude Standish points out. &quot;It was a defining show for a generation of millennial males&mdash;and there was always this explicit emphasis on stuff. It was like consumer-product porn: go big, bottle service, cars and supermodels. But it put the stuff into an emotional context,&quot; she says.</p>
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Cadillac isn&#39;t the first brand to hitch a ride to Entourage. Johnnie Walker also made repeated appearances in the series. But it wasn&#39;t until Ellin&#39;s childhood friend Rob Stone started working with the liquor brand&#39;s parent company Diageo North America that a formal relationship came about. Ellin consulted with Diageo and Stone&#39;s Cornerstone Agency&mdash;which has brought together artists like Kanye West and The Strokes with brands including Converse and Crown Royal&mdash;on various marketing concepts over the years, and, as the Entourage movie edged closer to reality, discussions evolved into a strategy for blending the two.</p>
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Johnnie Walker parent company Diageo praised Ellin for Entourage&#39;s creative product integration.&nbsp;</p>
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&nbsp;The result was a three-minute original film, Johnny for Johnnie, written by Ellin and directed by Entourage co-star Kevin Connolly, who plays Eric &quot;E&quot; Murphy. The video offers a cheeky look at character Johnny &quot;Drama&quot; Chase (Kevin Dillon) imagining himself as the new Johnnie Walker spokesman. He unveils the deal on Jimmy Kimmel, mirroring the franchise&#39;s abundant meta-moments, and even envisions a special batch&mdash;dubbed Johnny Drama&mdash;with his face plastered on the label.</p>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="367" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Qzyt4WFcLpA" width="652"></iframe></p>
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&quot;We look for partners with unique and authentic creative voices,&quot; says Dan Sanborn, Diageo&#39;s vp, public relations and entertainment marketing. &quot;And with Doug, there&#39;s no faking it. He sweats every detail.&quot;</p>
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The short film, part of a larger marketing campaign around the movie, had its risks, Sanborn admits. &quot;It was no small consideration for us to put Johnny Drama&#39;s face on the striding man,&quot; he says. The stunt proved worth it, though, as the video quickly racked up half a million views on YouTube and a million more on Facebook.</p>
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The allure of Hollywood is powerful for even the most risk-averse marketers. Meanwhile, those who make content for a living have become familiar with the creative brief and the brand bottom line. &quot;It takes a certain level of vision&quot; for marketers to commit to such projects, says Ari Avishay of CAA Marketing. &quot;But there are changing dynamics on both sides&mdash;and what rules is good content.&quot;</p>
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Ellin says he&#39;s ready to dive deeper into the burgeoning world of branded entertainment, independent of his movie and TV projects. He says he plans to pitch concepts, including commercials and other marketing ideas, to companies on Cornerstone&#39;s roster, and possibly beyond.</p>
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For his part, Ellin&#39;s friend, Cornerstone&#39;s co-founder and co-CEO Stone, says of the filmmaker: &quot;I truly believe Doug would be an incredible lead creative of an agency. Making films is rewarding, but it&#39;s a long, drawn-out process. Working with brands, you can quickly have something in the marketplace, and Doug likes putting out work.&quot;</p>
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It&#39;s a long way from Ellin&#39;s earliest days in Los Angeles, when he dreamt of becoming a stand-up comic. Day jobs at studios led him to writing scripts, and he eventually became a staff writer on ABC&#39;s short-lived Bonnie Hunt sitcom, Life With Bonnie. He penned the indie comedies Kissing a Fool, starring David Schwimmer, and Phat Beach, which he has described as &quot;probably the worst movie ever made.&quot; But it is Entourage, which premiered in 2004, that would be his calling card. Ellin has an ongoing deal with HBO for projects and is working on a Harriet Tubman biopic for the channel starring Oscar winner Viola Davis. The winner of an Emmy Award for producing a segment of ESPN&#39;s documentary series 30 for 30, Ellin is also slated to direct the sequel to 2003&#39;s Bad Santa.</p>
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He <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/05/entourage-movie-sequel-jeremy-piven-adrian-grenier" target="_blank">recently told Vanity Fair he&#39;d do &quot;20 sequels&quot; of Entourage</a> if there were an appetite for them, though he&#39;s only signed on for one. Whether the franchise has legs will hinge on its box-office performance in a season packed with superheroes, action stars and long-awaited sequels.</p>
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And if the movie does turn out to be a big, fat hit? Opening weekend numbers are all well and good, but Ellin also holds out hope the film will inspire Cadillac execs to reconsider rolling out the Ciel. &quot;I&#39;ve told everyone there that my goal is to get them to release this car,&quot; he says. &quot;Maybe people will demand it. That would be amazing.&quot;</p>
Advertising & BrandingTelevision30 for 30AppleCAACadillacT.L. StanleyConverseCornerstoneCreative Artists AgencyCrown RoyalDoug EllinDreamworksEntourageEscaladeEspnFacebookFast and FuriousFerrariGatoradeGeneral MotorsGmHboJeremy PivenJohnnie WalkerKanye WestMagazine ContentMichael Baynative adsParamountPublicisTransformersUniversalVanity FairWarner Bros.YoutubeMon, 01 Jun 2015 00:54:42 +0000165084 at http://www.adweek.comHow David Maddocks Is Putting a Spring in Cole Haan’s Stephttp://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/how-david-maddocks-putting-spring-cole-haan-s-step-164463
Robert Klara<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/maddock-cole-haan-hed-2015.jpg"> <p>
When Nike plunked down $305 million for a slightly down-at-the-heel Converse in 2003, it tasked David Maddocks with getting the brand back in the running. (He did, helping to increase sales sixfold.) And so two years ago, when the 87-year-old footwear brand Cole Haan needed a refresh, Maddocks wasn&#39;t surprised when his phone rang. After all, he was Converse&#39;s CMO when the brand was bought by Apax Partners, the same venture capital firm that bought Cole Haan from Nike. But while the two jobs have some similar elements, Cole Haan lacks a hipster, rock &#39;n&#39; roll past. It does, however, have an American past, and Maddocks has pioneered a variety of ways to send that message&mdash;from launching a documentary called the <a href="http://www.colehaan.com/americandream" target="_blank">American Dream Project</a> to melding traditional looks with high-tech engineering in <a href="http://www.colehaan.com/zerogrand" target="_blank">Cole Haan&#39;s ZeroGrand shoes. </a>We caught up with footwear&#39;s turnaround man in his New York office.<br />
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<strong>As recently as 2012, Cole Haan had a &quot;made by the streets of New York&quot; positioning&mdash;very downtown, very club-oriented, very young. You seem to be up to something quite different now.</strong><br />
We want to make sure we&#39;re inviting everyone, young and old, to participate. We want to honor our heritage while moving into the future, and that doesn&#39;t exclude young, hip and edgy people&mdash;we have amazing products for them&mdash;but it also includes their boomer parents.<br />
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<strong>With some marketing help from Giant Spoon, you guys recently released the American Dream Project, a documentary that hits the road to discover if the American Dream still exists. How does that theme fit with an upscale footwear company? </strong><br />
The film was about how America is still a land of promise, and we share that belief. A brand needs to stand firmly for what it believes and put it out there. Brands have to engage in what I call media-ification.<br />
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<strong>Meaning ... ?</strong><br />
It means we&#39;re all going to become media channels. And the sooner and faster we do that, the better. Look back to 1951, a simple little greeting card company in Kansas City decides to underwrite a program consistent with their values that today is a network. So we all have to be thinking that way.<br />
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<strong>Cole Haan got a lot of attention a few years ago with <a href="http://www.colehaan.com/mens-shoes-lunargrand" target="_blank">i</a><a href="http://www.colehaan.com/mens-shoes-lunargrand" target="_blank">ts funky LunarGrand shoes,</a> and last year you launched ZeroGrand, which is even lighter and more flexible. I know they&#39;re comfy to wear, but what&#39;s the deal with a shoe that&#39;s an Oxford on top and a sneaker on the bottom, anyway? </strong><br />
The casualization of American fashion has also been combined with the desire to dress up a bit more. It&#39;s really the combination of craft and style with modern engineering&mdash;an interesting and wonderful dichotomy. The consumer wants Grandpa&#39;s stuff, but they don&#39;t want it served up the way Grandpa had it. They want a bit of dash and exuberance, and we have the opportunity to give it to them.<br />
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<strong>What&#39;s the hardest part of marketing a footwear brand? </strong><br />
The barriers to entry are low. Therefore, the trick is to really understand consumers and find an original voice.<br />
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<strong>Last month, Cole Haan rolled out a spring kids collection. Is the thinking there to broaden the revenue stream, or are you hoping to train a new generation of Cole Haan buyers? </strong><br />
Every generation has made its way to Cole Haan, and it shows up in people&#39;s lives at a critical occasion&mdash;when they get married or the first job. When a brand is invited into someone&#39;s life, it&#39;s an amazing inflection point. So it only makes sense if a young person is taking their first steps, we should be there.<br />
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<strong>Speaking of taking steps, do you test walk the product?</strong><br />
They&#39;re on my feet right now. I wear them every single day. And because we make such a variety, we&#39;ve got everyone covered from work to weekend.<br />
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<strong>How many pairs of shoes do you have in your closet?</strong><br />
About 150 pairs.<br />
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<strong>Really? Converses included?</strong><br />
I&#39;ve got some great classic Converses. For Product Red, we did a mud-cloth shoe that was terrific. Those are coveted.</p>
Advertising & BrandingMarketingCMO Cold CallCole HaanConverseDavid MaddocksRobert KlaraNikeStyle IssuePackaged GoodsRetailCreativeMon, 04 May 2015 23:42:02 +0000164463 at http://www.adweek.comConverse Hires a New Agency to Plan and Buy Media http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/converse-hires-new-agency-plan-and-buy-media-163921
Andrew McMains<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/simpsons-sneakers-2_0.jpg"> <p>
Converse has hired a new agency to plan and buy its media in North America.</p>
<p>
PHD, a unit of Omnicom Group, has inherited the business from MediaVest after a review, sources said. The assignment includes both traditional and digital media, and spending is expected to grow to $15 million this year. Last year, the brand spent $7 million in media, according to Kantar Media.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
A handful of other agencies competed for the account, but the full list could not be ascertained. MediaVest did not defend.</p>
<p>
Key decision makers in the search included director of brand marketing <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pub/kristin-cusic/23/a7/21" target="_blank">Kristin Cusic</a> and senior manager of brand marketing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/katelynnugent" target="_blank">Katelyn Nugent</a>.</p>
<p>
Creative responsibilities were not in play and remain at Anomaly in New York. Anomaly has worked for the American sneaker icon <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising/anomaly-adds-converse-89980" target="_blank">since 2007</a>.</p>
<p>
PHD referred calls to Converse, which could not immediately be reached. But sources said the brand, a unit of Nike, told contenders of its decision.</p>
Advertising & BrandingAccountcontendersConverseMediaMediaVestAndrew McMainsPhdReviewSearchTue, 07 Apr 2015 15:09:02 +0000163921 at http://www.adweek.comTumblr's Creatrs Network Shares Its First Marketing Resultshttp://www.adweek.com/news/technology/tumblrs-creatrs-network-shares-its-first-marketing-results-163319
Garett Sloane<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/uploads/oija-movie-hed-2015.png"> <p>
The movie Ouija was a digital marketing phenomenon, with a campaign that took to almost every available channel and even blazed new ones. The Universal movie was the <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/check-out-snapchats-first-ad-universal-pictures-160866" target="_blank">first to buy a Snapchat ad</a> late last year and, it turns out, was among the first to use Tumblr&#39;s new Creatrs Network.</p>
<p>
Tumblr officially launched this new marketing venture this year, but it was at work for Ouija when the teen-focused horror flick hit theaters in October. <a href="https://www.tumblr.com/creatrs" target="_blank">Tumblr formed the Creatrs Network </a>to identify top influential personalities on its platform and connect them with brands.</p>
<p>
Tumblr&#39;s stylish users are generally coveted by brands that want to create bespoke social content. And the Creatrs Network was a way for Tumblr to launch an in-house agency with these creative types, instead of making advertisers work with third-party influencer networks.</p>
<p>
There are benefits to tapping these socially savvy personalities with big followings&mdash;they help spread the word about a brand or entertainment company, and are more welcome by fellow users on Tumblr and other sites.</p>
<p>
The most recent campaigns tapping the network include Converse&#39;s Made by You, with<a href="http://chucktaylor.tumblr.com/" target="_blank"> artists on Tumblr posting pictures, GIFs and other artwork</a> showing how they rock their Chuck Taylors.</p>
<p>
Today, Tumblr shared its first numbers from the Creatrs Network, from Ouija&#39;s marketing. It confirms that people on the platform are more likely to share social content when it comes from a fellow Tumblr user.</p>
<p>
Ouija commissioned the network to design GIFs and digital posters and then promoted the content. Here were the results, according to Millard Brown Digital.</p>
<ul>
<li>
People who engaged with a promoted post on Tumblr were 10 percent more aware of the movie compared with a control group that had not been exposed to the marketing.</li>
<li>
Users who engaged with earned media from the Ouija campaign&mdash;served to them by users naturally sharing on Tumblr&mdash;were 19 percent more aware of the movie.</li>
<li>
People engaging with paid placements on Tumblr were 9 percent more likely to see the movie.</li>
<li>
Meanwhile, those who engaged with earned media were 54 percent more likely to see the movie.</li>
<li>
The report also gives a rare glimpse of scale on Tumblr. The Ouija campaign generated 625,000 total engagements&mdash;likes, reblogs and follows. To put that in perspective, in the days around the movie&#39;s premiere, it received 1.16 million Likes on Facebook, a much larger platform.</li>
</ul>
Technologychuck taylorConversecreatrs networkDatainfluencer programsGarett SloaneOuijaSnapchatSocialTumblrTumblr adsUniversalFri, 06 Mar 2015 19:04:12 +0000163319 at http://www.adweek.comConverse’s Street-Style Campaign Shows How People Rock Their Chucks Around the Worldhttp://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/converse-s-street-style-campaign-shows-how-people-rock-their-chucks-around-world-163189
Robert Klara<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/tt-converse-hed-2015.jpg"> <p>
Converse&#39;s Chuck Taylor, the stitched-canvas, rubber-toed basketball shoe, is somehow at home everywhere from magazine spreads to mosh pits. So it&#39;s no surprise that <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news-gallery/advertising-branding/products-we-want-now-iphone-lenses-make-us-all-look-pros-162663" target="_blank">celebrities from Andy Warhol</a> to George Harrison, Kristen Stewart to Tommy Lee have all laced up a pair of Chucks at one time or another. It would be easy for Converse to get marketing mileage solely from this fact, but the brand&#39;s latest campaign goes beyond how celebrities wear their Chucks to spotlight something even more interesting: how you wear yours, dude.</p>
<p>
<a href="https://thehundreds.com/inside-converse-made-by-you/" target="_blank">Converse&#39;s &quot;Made by You&quot; campaign</a>, which launches today, will display thousands of portraits of people in their Converses, mingling shots of celebrities with photos of stars you&#39;ve never met&mdash;street kids, artists, musicians and everyday iconoclasts. These global citizens not only have a brand of sneaker in common, but an individual, unapologetic way of wearing them. As vp-general manager of brand and segments Geoff Cottrill explained, &quot;People have used Converse as a badge for self-expression for decades now.&quot;</p>
<p>
&quot;Made by You&quot; will exhibit that self-expression. Converse spent months roaming global cities like Tokyo, Berlin and S&atilde;o Paulo in search of creative individuals doing their thing with their Chucks on (people, as Cottrill put it, &quot;who see the world through the lens of their sneakers&quot;). Then, with a creative assist from agency <a href="http://www.adweek.com/agencyspy/anomaly-wins-major-league-baseball/80253" target="_blank">Anomaly</a>, it photographed them all.</p>
<p>
The portraits will appear in a street-level &quot;gallery&quot; in New York&#39;s Flatiron district, care of 16-foot-tall light boxes, with an added activation via Google Cardboard that allows visitors to virtually immerse themselves in the portraiture. Converse fans who don&#39;t live in New York will be able to view and share the portraits through social media feeds including Instagram and Facebook.</p>
<p>
Media images of cool people wearing cool clothes are hardly a new idea in advertising, but &quot;Made by You&quot; actually inverts a number of branding conventions. Rather than spotlighting the product, Converse is effectively casting the consumer&#39;s personality as its brand, using its sneaker as a means of expressing it. And unlike fashion labels that fuss over flawless product shots, Converse is comfortable showing its sneakers in their as-worn state&mdash;marked up, beat down and otherwise customized. &quot;Each tear has a story,&quot; Cottrill said. &quot;There are few brands that celebrate customers doing what they want with their products.&quot;</p>
<p>
That degree of confidence, said veteran brand consultant Hayes Roth, principal of HA Roth Consulting, is why Converse&#39;s approach works. &quot;They&#39;ve very clear on what the brand is about,&quot; he said. &quot;They&#39;ve always been about the street in a lot of ways, and this is a demonstration of their strength, viability and authority.&quot; Rather than marketing performance, as other footwear brands do, Converse concerns itself with individual style, whatever that may look like. &quot;They&#39;ve taken a countercultural course,&quot; Roth said. &quot;And it&#39;s working very nicely for them.&quot;</p>
Advertising & BrandingMarketingAnomalyCelebritiesConverseConverse Chuck Taylor All StarsRobert KlaraPackaged GoodsRetailMon, 02 Mar 2015 11:00:03 +0000163189 at http://www.adweek.comConverse Goes to Court to Challenge Chuck Taylor Look-Alikeshttp://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/converse-goes-court-challenge-chuck-taylor-lookalikes-160790
Erik Oster<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/simpsons-sneakers-2.jpg"> <p>
Converse has filed 22 separate lawsuits in U.S. District Court that accuse 31 companies of infringing on its classic Chuck Taylor All Star design.</p>
<p>
In addition, the brand has complained to the International Trade Commission, which has the authority to prevent counterfeit shoes from entering the country.</p>
<p>
While Converse, which Nike purchased in 2003, is suing for monetary damages, ultimately the brand is seeking to knock look-alike brands off store shelves. Among the companies named in the suits are Walmart, Kmart, Bob&#39;s, Skechers, FILA, Ed Hardy and Ralph Lauren.</p>
<p>
&quot;The goal really is to stop this action,&quot; Converse CEO Jim Calhoun <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/15/business/converse-sues-to-protect-its-chuck-taylor-all-stars.html?_r=1" target="_blank">told The New York Times</a>. &quot;I think we&rsquo;re quite fortunate here to be in the possession of what we would consider to be an American icon.&quot;</p>
<p>
To call Converse&#39;s signature brand iconic is not hyperbole. First introduced in 1917 and named after spokesman and pro player Chuck Taylor, the shoe&#39;s distinctive style has captured the imaginations of generations. Originally marketed as a basketball shoe, the brand experienced its initial heyday in the 1950s and &#39;60s, gaining popularity first with greasers and then with the counterculture crowd. It&#39;s during this period that the brand shifted from athletic to everyday footwear. The shoes have been featured in such era-evoking Hollywood films as Grease and Rocky.</p>
<p>
The brand eventually floundered, despite remaining popular in certain circles, filing for bankruptcy in the &#39;90s, before Nike came along. Since then, Nike has helped expand Converse&#39;s offerings to include new colors and styles, which, in turn, have helped to reinvigorate the brand. In its 2014 fiscal year, Nike reported that Converse generated about $1.7 billion in sales.</p>
<p>
But the brand&#39;s resurgence in popularity has led to what Calhoun referred to as an &quot;explosion in knockoff activity.&quot;</p>
<p>
So does Converse really have a case? Not so much, according to legal experts, who said that copyright infringement is difficult to prove.</p>
<p>
&quot;It can&rsquo;t just be that your design is different or novel or interesting. It has to be that consumers associate the design with the source of the design,&quot; said R. Polk Wagner, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, in an interview with the Times. &quot;The functionality limitation and the requirement that the design identify source makes it pretty difficult to win.&quot;</p>
Advertising & Brandingchuck taylorChuck Taylor All StarConversecopyright infringementK-MartErik OsterLawsuitslookalikesNikeWalmartWed, 15 Oct 2014 19:06:02 +0000160790 at http://www.adweek.comBrand of the Day: How Converse Learned to Love and Celebrate Creative Types http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/brand-day-how-converse-learned-love-and-celebrate-creative-types-160510
Kristina Monllos<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/converse-fall-2014-hed-2014.jpg"> <p>
For a 108-year-old brand, Converse is still pretty quick on its feet.</p>
<p>
Yes, the brand filed for bankruptcy in 2001 and was&nbsp;<a href="http://qz.com/129238/how-converse-went-from-bankruptcy-to-a-1-4-billion-business/" target="_blank">famously acq</a><a href="http://qz.com/129238/how-converse-went-from-bankruptcy-to-a-1-4-billion-business/" target="_blank">uired&nbsp;</a>by&nbsp;Nike in 2003, but what changed? How did it transform into a winner again?&nbsp;</p>
<p>
It helps that Converse finally started to understand its audience. It has long appealed to counterculture types, but it wasn&#39;t until as <a href="http://media.converse.com/news/converse-celebrates-a-century-of-orginality-and-pop-icon-status" target="_blank">recently as 2008</a> that the brand seemed to champion this.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
&quot;Creative people have made the brand who we are today,&quot; said&nbsp;Geoff Cottrill, vp and general manager of brand and segments. &quot;They are really people we should be celebrating and serving. The role of a marketer is to find who your core audience is, and on some level find ways to serve them. It&#39;s less about how old you are and where you live, and more about the mind-set around creativity and self-expression that defines who our consumer base is.&quot;&nbsp;</p>
<p>
According to Cottrill, the brand tries to celebrate its consumers rather than itself, and works to contribute to youth culture rather than take from it. <span style="line-height: 20.3999996185303px;">The brand even has its own recording studio, </span><a href="https://www.converse.com/rubbertracks" target="_blank">Converse Rubber Tracks</a><a href="https://www.converse.com/rubbertracks" target="_blank">,</a><span style="line-height: 20.3999996185303px;"> where it records up-and-coming musicians, and runs a </span><a href="http://play.converse.com/wall-to-wall/" target="_blank">Wall-to-Wall</a><span style="line-height: 20.3999996185303px;"> street art program.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>
<strong>&bull; Social Media Profile</strong> (as of 10/2/14)<br />
Facebook Likes: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/converse" target="_blank">40.6 Million</a><br />
Twitter Followers:<a href="https://twitter.com/Converse" target="_blank"> 705,124</a><br />
Instagram Followers: <a href="http://instagram.com/converse" target="_blank">1 Million</a></p>
<p>
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="550" scrolling="no" src="http://instagram.com/p/th9qoRErq1/embed/" width="450"></iframe></p>
<p>
Converse doesn&#39;t tweet that much, but when it does, the brand seems to be promoting new <a href="https://twitter.com/Converse/status/517586117743235072" target="_blank">band videos</a> or its <a href="https://twitter.com/Converse/status/517419159869591552" target="_blank">contest with Guitar Center.</a> Its Instagram is better for shoe-porn shots, like the one above of its new <a href="http://hypebeast.com/2014/9/polar-skate-co-x-converse-cons-2014-fall-collection" target="_blank">collaboration</a> with Swedish skate company <a href="http://polarskateco.com/" target="_blank">Polar Skate Co.</a></p>
<p>
<strong><strong>&bull; </strong>Recent Advertising&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="367" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/kt6vqd0Gx7E?list=UUQyD8XhASM2rRhHckUDf_Aw" width="652"></iframe></p>
<p>
Instead of going for the usual 30- or 60-second spot for its new fall collection, Converse let its brand ambassador&nbsp;Pontus Alv shoot a film. Titled &quot;Manhattan Days,&quot; it shows skaters&nbsp;Aaron Herrington, Kevin Rodrigues, David Stenstr&ouml;m, Jerome Campbell, Dane Brady and Alv himself, doing what they do best.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
<strong>Fast Facts</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>
Converse has evolved significantly from its roots. Founded in <a href="http://www.complex.com/sneakers/2013/05/50-things-you-didnt-know-about-converse-chuck-taylor-all-stars/converse-rubber-shoe-company" target="_blank">1908 in Malden, Mass.,</a> as a rubber shoe company, things started to change in 1917 when it introduced the All-Star basketball shoe.&nbsp;</li>
<li>
In 1921, the company made basketball player <a href="http://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/tag/charles-h-chuck-taylor" target="_blank">Chuck Taylor </a>a salesman and brand ambassador. His signature was added to the shoes in 1932.&nbsp;</li>
<li>
Cultural iconoclasts like <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/chucks-big-comeback-144059" target="_blank">Hunter S. Thompson, Sid Vicious and the Ramones</a> embraced the brand.&nbsp;</li>
<li>
Nike acquired Converse for <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/10/business/10NIKE.html" target="_blank">$305 million in 2003 </a>after the brand filed for bankruptcy in 2001.&nbsp;</li>
<li>
In 2012, Converse <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/bono-superbrand-who-makes-world-better-place-160395" target="_blank">partnered with the (RED)</a> campaign.</li>
<li>
The brand has its own recording studio in Brooklyn, N.Y., called Converse&nbsp;<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBJwBZeddCc&amp;feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">Rubber Tracks,</a> which was founded in 2011.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Advertising & BrandingBrand of the DayConverseConverse Rubber CorpKristina Monllos160510 at http://www.adweek.comBono Is a Superbrand Who Makes the World a Better Place http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/bono-superbrand-who-makes-world-better-place-160395
Gabriel Beltrone<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/fea-bv-bono-hed-2014.jpg"> <p>
All the world is Bono&#39;s stage.</p>
<p>
As frontman of U2, he is among the most successful rock musicians in history. As a businessman, he&#39;s been party to lucrative investments in fashionable new tech companies like Facebook and Yelp. And as a global statesman, he&#39;s had arguably more influence than any other celebrity activist, helping lead international efforts to address extreme crises of poverty and disease.</p>
<div class="news-article-image" style="float: right;margin: 15px 0px 15px 15px;">
<img class="fancyzoom" data-fancybox-src="/files/imagecache/w1200/fea-bv-bono-01-2014.jpg" src="/files/imagecache/test-width/fea-bv-bono-01-2014.jpg" />
<p class="caption">
<span class="meta-credit">Photo: Joe Pugliese/August</span></p>
</div>
<p>
In other words, <a href="http://www.ted.com/speakers/bono" target="_blank">Bono has universal clout</a>.</p>
<p>
&quot;He&#39;s one of these timeless global icons,&quot; says Charles Gibb, president of luxury vodka brand Belvedere, a partner of <a href="http://www.red.org/en/" target="_blank">(RED)</a>, the charity product label Bono co-founded. &quot;He resonates in every single country around the world. He&#39;s an absolute driving force on the political scene, in the music scene and in the cultural scene.&quot;</p>
<p>
Or, just ask any of the 500 million iTunes users that recently woke up&mdash;happy or not&mdash;to <a href="http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/bono-hits-at-haters-of-itunes-album-launch-287997.html" target="_blank">find the new U2 album in their libraries</a>, courtesy of a pricey Apple advertising campaign.</p>
<p>
Born Paul David Hewson, Bono and his band mates formed their rock group in Dublin in 1976. Since then, they have accumulated more than 150 million album sales worldwide and 22 Grammy Awards, placing U2 in the upper echelon of the music industry.</p>
<p>
A decade ago, Bono took new strides into the business world, helping establish the venture capital firm Elevation Partners alongside veteran Silicon Valley investors and executives. In 2009 and 2010, the private equity shop spent a reported $210 million on Facebook shares that, by the time the social network went public in 2012, were worth some $1.5 billion. Today, the value of that stake likely exceeds $2.75 billion.</p>
<p>
Yet despite all those achievements, there&#39;s no question that Bono&#39;s most important work has been by way of his high-profile activism.</p>
<p>
Building on a long history of collaboration with organizations like Amnesty International and his commitment to public service around the millennium, in the mid-2000s the singer teamed up with activist and Kennedy heir Bobby Shriver to co-found a series of nonprofit groups to address issues such as debt forgiveness for impoverished nations.</p>
<p>
Now organized under the umbrella anti-poverty campaign One, the duo&#39;s joint ventures for good also include (RED), launched in 2006 to rally corporations in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa.</p>
<p>
In the years since, the charity has carved out its own place in the pop culture landscape, partnering at different times with countless celebrities, public servants, media companies and, essential to its mission, a slew of zeitgeist-darling brands like Apple, Beats by Dre, Converse and Starbucks as well as top global marketers including the Coca-Cola Co. and Gap. Special edition products and events ultimately generated more than $275 million for the cause and, by (RED)&#39;s estimates, provided assistance to some 55 million people.</p>
<div class="news-article-image" style="float: left;margin: 15px 0px 15px 0px;">
<img src="/files/imagecache/node-detail/fea-bv-marc-newson-bono-jony-ive-hed-2014.jpg" />
<p class="caption">
Flanked by designers Mark Newson and Jonathan Ive at the (RED) Design Auction in New York, November 2013. | <span class="meta-credit"> Photo: Getty Images</span></p>
</div>
<p>
The label has also pioneered a way to connect the dots on an unprecedented scale between the philanthropic potential of consumerism, the profit motive of giant corporations and the moral imperative of helping some of the global community&#39;s neediest citizens.</p>
<p>
Prior to (RED), &quot;there was Paul Newman doing one product for good or Ben and Jerry&#39;s doing one product for good,&quot; as Deborah Dugan, <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/media-executive-deborah-dugan-named-ceo-of-red-130207868.html" target="_blank">who joined (RED) as CEO in 2011</a>, points out. &quot;But there really wasn&#39;t a brand that could culminate a great deal of brands&mdash;right now we have 25, for example&mdash;to be working in the same way. And it&#39;s not in a cookie-cutter way; it&#39;s using their creativity to say what&#39;s breakthrough, to make a lot of noise to keep a lot of heat under this issue.&quot;</p>
<p>
The revenues (RED) generates, including up to 50 percent of proceeds from (RED)-branded products and earnings from events like charity auctions, goes to the Global Fund, a public-private partnership that finances health programs addressing HIV/AIDS as well as tuberculosis and malaria. Launched in 2002 and prior to the creation of (RED), the Global Fund, in its first four years, generated a total of just $5 million in global corporate sector contributions. Today, however, (RED) has become its single largest corporate sector contributor, adding $275 million to its coffers.</p>
<div class="news-article-image" style="float: left;margin: 15px 0px 15px 0px;">
<img src="/files/imagecache/node-detail/fea-bv-bono-oprah-winfrey-hed-2014.jpg" />
<p class="caption">
With Oprah Winfrey at a Chicago (RED) even in October 2006.| <span class="meta-credit"> Photo: Courtesy of Red</span></p>
</div>
<p>
&quot;When Bono and Bobby founded (RED), they were looking through the lens of a critical need,&quot; says Mark Dybul, executive director of the Global Fund. &quot;That need was to substantially increase private sector money coming in to fight against AIDS.</p>
<p>
&quot;It is working,&quot; Dybul adds. &quot;With private sector support, working together with governments and other partners, the Global Fund has been able to make huge strides to the point where we can talk about ending AIDS as an epidemic.&quot;</p>
<div class="news-article-image" style="float: left;margin: 15px 15px 15px 0px;">
<img class="fancyzoom" data-fancybox-src="/files/imagecache/w1200/fea-bv-vanity-fair-bono-01-2014.jpg" src="/files/imagecache/test-width/fea-bv-vanity-fair-bono-01-2014.jpg" />
<p class="caption">
One of 20 special (RED) editions of Vanity Fair edited by Bono,<br />
July 2007 | <span class="meta-credit"> Photo: Annie Leibovitz</span></p>
</div>
<p>
In its early years, (RED) faced criticism about whether its approach focused on commerce at the expense of more direct and efficient forms of philanthropy. But the fact is that the partnerships are not designed to be purely altruistic. They are also meant to be pragmatic, aligning with the skills and the needs of business leaders in order to draw them in for the long haul.</p>
<p>
Since 2011, Belvedere, part of the LVMH family, has produced annual campaigns around its Belvedere (RED) product, featuring special edition bottles and tie-ins with music acts like Lady Gaga, Usher and Mary J. Blige. It activates the program in 35 countries. Gibb says (RED) &quot;very much fits with the type of consumer we target: 25-35-year-olds. They live in cities, they&#39;re social, they&#39;re active. I call them life enthusiasts because these are the type of people that grab life by the horns. They go out and have fun, but equally, they&#39;re very interested in culture and art, they care deeply about the environment, they care deeply about global issues.&quot;</p>
<p>
2013 marked the first time the number of HIV patients beginning antiretroviral drug therapy (2.3 million) exceeded the number of people who recently contracted the virus (2.1 million), according to United Nations data. Gibb says Belvedere (RED) has had the privilege of driving that kind of change, generating funds that helped 12,500 HIV-positive mothers to give birth to healthy babies. &quot;That&#39;s the true measure of success: the real impact you&#39;re having on the ground,&quot; Gibb says.</p>
<p>
Meanwhile, Apple, (RED)&#39;s biggest contributor, has since 2006 raised some $75 million for the cause. This year, the mobile payment service Square came on board, as did Bank of America, which, with support from creative agency Hill Holliday, pledged $10 million, including $3 million tied to the number of times a free U2 single was downloaded following a Super Bowl ad promoting the bank&#39;s partnership with (RED).</p>
<p>
The fight is far from over. The United Nations estimates that some 35 million people worldwide live with HIV/AIDS, and 19 million of them don&#39;t know it. Dugan stresses the need to partner with still more brands with global reach, signaling a desire to work with marketers in categories such as fashion, automotive, hotels and tech. &quot;I&#39;d love to see Uber and Airbnb go (RED),&quot; she says. &quot;We&#39;re always looking for good ideas.&quot;</p>
<p>
Bono continues his tireless efforts as ambassador for the cause. This past June he<a href="/node/158505"> took to the stage at the annual Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity to drum up support</a>.</p>
<p>
&quot;We want to unlock everybody&#39;s creativity to this problem because it&#39;s not going to be solved without everybody on board,&quot; he said in a video to promote his appearance at Cannes. &quot;In 2015, we actually might, for the first time ever in about eight countries in the developing world, have the first HIV-free generation. If there is a crescendo and people give us ideas and keep it hot and keep it exciting, then in the next year there&#39;ll be another eight countries, and then another. So within a few years we&#39;ll have the first HIV-free generation, and this is just a mind-blowing thought.&quot;</p>
<p>
<strong>CORRECTION:</strong> <em>Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this article stated that (RED) is the largest single contributor to The Global Fund, and that The Global Fund in its first four years raised $5 million. To clarify, (RED) is the largest single contributor to The Global Fund from the corporate sector, which contributed $5 million in the fund&#39;s first four years.</em></p>
Advertising & BrandingMarketing(red)Amnesty InternationalAppleBeatsGabriel BeltroneBonoBrand Genius 2014ConverseStarbucksU2Packaged GoodsRetailCreativeBrand GeniusMon, 29 Sep 2014 03:56:13 +0000160395 at http://www.adweek.comThe 6 Manliest Fashion Brands of All Time [Video]http://www.adweek.com/video/advertising-branding/6-manliest-fashion-brands-all-time-video-157506
<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/1126101268_3541942000001_video-still-for-video-3541740685001_0.jpg"> <p>
What is it that makes a fashion item quintessentially manly? Historian and in-house Brand Genius Robert Klara talks us through the styles that will make a man of you.</p>
Advertising & BrandingAdweek 6Adweek OriginalBrooks BrothersConverseFashionLevi'sOld SpiceRolexThe Adweek 6Wed, 07 May 2014 14:17:33 +0000157506 at http://www.adweek.comMediaVest Is the U.S. Media Agency of the Yearhttp://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/mediavest-us-media-agency-year-155585
Andrew McMains<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/fea-media-yr-mediavest-hed-2014.jpg"> <p>
The biggest phone call of MediaVest&rsquo;s phenomenal 2013 began, curiously enough, with Honda&rsquo;s Mike Accavitti chitchatting about the weather and asking MediaVest U.S. CEO Brian Terkelsen how his day was going.</p>
<p>
While Terkelsen welcomed the small talk, given that MediaVest had just pitched <a href="/node/148036">Honda&rsquo;s $800 million media account</a> a few weeks earlier, it did seem aimless, particularly at the end of a long day. I really don&rsquo;t know where he&rsquo;s going, Terkelsen remembers thinking.</p>
<p>
Finally getting to the point, Accavitti, the carmaker&rsquo;s svp, automobile operations, explained that as a high-touch guy, he was personally calling review finalists to let them know if they were out. Terkelsen couldn&rsquo;t help but wonder whether he was one of those getting bad news that day. That&rsquo;s when Accavitti spilled the beans: MediaVest had outstripped Horizon Media and PHD to win one of the biggest and most coveted accounts of the year. As it turns out, Accavitti was just being coy with a call every agency CEO wants to get.</p>
<p>
&ldquo;I had to call all the other people and tell them that they lost,&rdquo; says the Honda exec. &ldquo;So, it was finally my time to smile.&rdquo;</p>
<p>
The welcome news on that rainy New York night in March capped a hard-fought three-month review and helped propel Publicis Groupe&rsquo;s MediaVest, Adweek&rsquo;s U.S. Media Agency of the Year, to 30 percent revenue growth in 2013. The Honda win was also the biggest since Terkelsen became U.S. CEO in June 2012, expressing a desire for more significant growth. The outcome proved that the new boss and his team had come a long way in nine months. &ldquo;We were just suffering from a lack of growth,&rdquo; says Terkelsen, who rose to the top job after running <a href="/node/144009">LiquidThread</a>, the branded content arm of the larger Starcom MediaVest Group. &ldquo;We needed to double down on product. We needed to double down on who we were as a business and our culture. We needed to double down on more aggressive growth.&rdquo;</p>
<p>
Other major wins last year include Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, the maker of Abilify; Nike&rsquo;s Converse brand; and three <a href="/node/146331">new assignments from Mondelez followin</a>g the $35 billion snacking company&rsquo;s <a href="/node/143310">spinoff from Kraft</a>. The snacks giant was just one of many existing clients that expanded their relationships with MediaVest. Coca-Cola, Procter &amp; Gamble, Bristol Myers Squibb, Aflac and Post Foods all handed the shop new assignments, largely in the realm of search marketing and data and analytics. Revenue growth also came from late 2012 wins like the TriHonda Dealer Group and Travelers.</p>
<p>
MediaVest ended 2013 with an estimated $254 million in domestic revenue, up 30 percent from $195 million in 2012. By comparison, revenue grew half as much in 2012.</p>
<p>
MediaVest also stood out strategically and creatively, helping <a href="/node/148826">SMG strike a deal with Twitter</a> that gave MediaVest and Starcom clients an early look at new ways for marketing brands in social media. It also forged a mobile partnership with Apple. In addition, MediaVest won a silver social media Lion at Cannes for its role in the popular &ldquo;<a href="http://www.adweek.com/news-slide/oreo-oreo-daily-twist-150115" target="_blank">Oreo Daily Twist</a>&rdquo; campaign. But the growth in business trumped all, beginning with the expansion of the Mondelez relationship in January.</p>
<p>
Even before Mondelez spun off from Kraft in October, it started to review its agency relationships in the U.S. and abroad, with an eye toward consolidating assignments at fewer shops but also changing its strategic approach toward top-selling global brands like Oreo, Cadbury and Trident, says <a href="http://www.adweek.com/video/advertising-branding/brand-genius-2012-lisa-mann-oreo-144817" target="_blank">Lisa Mann</a>, then vp of North American marketing services and now an svp in the global gum category.</p>
<p>
That strategic shift gave rise to a new global communications planning assignment Mondelez divided between MediaVest (candy, gum and biscuit brands) and Carat (chocolates and coffees). And in the U.S., where MediaVest already handled most media buying and some planning, the agency added planning and digital buying for gums and candies from Horizon. All told, Mondelez spends about $180 million in media domestically each year.</p>
<p>
Casting and transparency were key factors in MediaVest&rsquo;s win. To manage the pitch, Terkelsen deployed two account veterans who were new faces to Mondelez: Jon Halvorson, who previously worked on P&amp;G, and Francis Pessagno, a leader on Comcast. Mondelez executives also got to meet account leaders on individual brands in a daylong series of face-to-face meetings. &ldquo;It was like speed-dating, one at a time, to understand the people who&rsquo;d really be touching our businesses, how they feel about MediaVest and how they are being trained to change for their clients,&rdquo; Mann says. &ldquo;They were open to making us feel that they were the right company, and they did that by being very open.&rdquo;</p>
<p>
The Mondelez windfall came just as Honda&rsquo;s review of both creative and media responsibilities heated up. For decades, American Honda Motor Co. had bundled all of its business at RPA, but now, given the explosion of new media channels consumers use to shop for cars, Accavitti needed a specialist in media. &ldquo;Better targeting, better tools to target&mdash;that&rsquo;s really one of the glaring areas that we were looking to fix,&rdquo; he explains.</p>
<!--pagebreak-->
<p>
MediaVest, meanwhile, had fresh insights into the consumer purchase cycle, thanks to exhaustive research SMG commissioned after General Motors left Starcom in 2012. That research, which involved analyzing 10,000 online conversations about cars for one year, set MediaVest apart from other finalists, and cogently laid out the reasons behind what Accavitti had already seen in the marketplace. A key finding: If people aren&rsquo;t talking about your car brand in social media when a potential buyer is in the consideration stage, the buyer rarely chooses your brand. &ldquo;The output of [the study] was great and very useful,&rdquo; Accavitti says. &ldquo;But number two, it demonstrated the forward thinking of the operation, which was exactly what we were looking for.&rdquo; &nbsp;</p>
<div class="news-article-image" style="float: left;margin: 10px 0px 10px 0px;">
<img class="fancyzoom" data-fancybox-src="/files/imagecache/w1200/fea-media-yr-us-letter-02-2014.jpg" src="/files/imagecache/node-blog/fea-media-yr-us-letter-02-2014.jpg" />
<p class="caption">
<span class="meta-credit">Lettering: Jeff Rogers</span></p>
</div>
<p>
Beyond the consumer insights and strategic ideas MediaVest presented, Accavitti and Terkelsen just plain clicked. As the marketing chief says, &ldquo;It makes it just a more enjoyable experience if you can get along with the people you work with, and I get along with Brian.&rdquo;</p>
<p>
As the year wore on, MediaVest continued to gain new assignments from existing clients, often without pitches. All told, about half of 2013&rsquo;s revenue gain came from marketers already working with the agency, according to U.S. COO Tim Castree, who, like Terkelsen, assumed his role in the summer of 2012. Many of those marketers had worked with MediaVest for years.</p>
<p>
Expanding existing relationships is &ldquo;about having a real strong point of view and vision about where our clients&rsquo; business is going, a real understanding about where the media marketplace is going and consumers are going, and then working to make sure we have the right product set,&rdquo; explains Castree, a former head of account management at Bartle Bogle Hegarty in New York. Adds Christine Merrifield, president of investment and activation: &ldquo;We focus heavily on organic growth and getting our clients to go into that next generation, cross-channel, cross-screen&rdquo; world.</p>
<p>
While MediaVest handles major accounts like Walmart and P&amp;G, sometimes it just likes to get a crack at a cool brand. Such was the case with <a href="/node/150677">Converse</a>, which doesn&rsquo;t spend a lot in media dollars and needs to stretch them further. Also, Converse sees media as a creative outlet. So, when the brand called a pitch, MediaVest jumped. &ldquo;They exercised the pitch because they really wanted to go deeper and see more creativity in the media as opposed to it being &lsquo;the tail on the dog,&rsquo;&rdquo; says Terkelsen. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re like, Why can&rsquo;t media be the dog and why can&rsquo;t creative be the dog? We just want a tailless dog.&rdquo;</p>
<p>
The final pitch took place the same week in October as an off-site meeting for MediaVest&rsquo;s top executives. So Terkelsen held the off-site not too far from the city, as he and others would need to return to prepare. The group ended up at a conference center owned by the Girl Scouts of the USA hidden in the woods of suburban Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. The relaxed environment facilitated free-wheeling discussions on everything from programmatic buying and changes in the agency structure to redefining media planning around content, says strategy chief Richard Hartell. One night, some execs even gathered around a fire pit to relax and share personal stories about the first concerts they saw and their first movies. The atmosphere was reminiscent of one of MediaVest&rsquo;s biweekly executive committee meetings&mdash;less structured, a bit out there sometimes, but also a lot more open.&nbsp;</p>
<div class="news-article-image" style="float: right;margin: 10px 0px 10px 10px;">
<img class="fancyzoom" data-fancybox-src="/files/imagecache/node-detail/fea-media-yr-mediavest-hed-02-2014.jpg" src="/files/imagecache/test-width/fea-media-yr-mediavest-hed-02-2014.jpg" />
<p class="caption">
Back row, from left:&nbsp;Castree; Katie Ford, president,&nbsp;managing<br />
director;&nbsp;Coleen Kuehn, president,&nbsp;planning and strategy;<br />
Terkelsen.&nbsp;Front, from left:&nbsp;Merrifield; Kramer; Richard Hartell,&nbsp;<br />
president, strategy;&nbsp;Pam Zucker, president, marketplace&nbsp;ignition<br />
and innovation. |&nbsp;<span class="meta-credit">Photo: Christopher Gabello</span></p>
</div>
<p>
&nbsp;</p>
<p>
That change in dynamic is &ldquo;creating a different kind of vibe inside the organization,&rdquo; says client services president Sarah Kramer, who joined the agency in 2001. &ldquo;I see people contributing, talking and dialoguing more than in the past, and I&rsquo;ve been in the organization a long time. I think that comes with a leader who&rsquo;s willing to let their guard down.&rdquo;</p>
<p>
Certainly, an environment of give-and-take seems natural for Terkelsen, a former creator of TV shows and business partner of Mark Burnett who also worked in investment banking. In fact, Terkelsen&rsquo;s first media agency job came 12 years ago when he signed on to lead MediaVest&rsquo;s Connectivetissue, which later rolled up into LiquidThread. Indeed, he is not your father&rsquo;s media agency CEO.</p>
<p>
After the two-day confab, Terkelsen and his team pitched Converse and two weeks later found out they won the business, beating Horizon Media and OMD. The moral of the story: You can have your off-site and win business, too. In fact, the bonding in the woods may well have made for a more relaxed and confident pitch.</p>
Advertising & BrandingBrian TerkelsenConverseHorizon MediaMagazine ContentMediaVestAndrew McMainsOreoPublicisStarcom MediaVest GroupMon, 10 Feb 2014 02:08:26 +0000155585 at http://www.adweek.comThe Top 20 Tumblr Ads of the Yearhttp://www.adweek.com/news/technology/top-20-tumblr-ads-year-154354
Christopher Heine<p>
When Tumblr <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/30/4380316/tumblr-launches-sponsored-posts-on-web-following-mobile-rollout" target="_blank">introduced in-stream</a> sponsored posts last spring, skeptics predicted millennials would flee. But the blogging site soared to 47 million visitors in October, up 42 percent since the ads debuted, per comScore.</p>
<p>
That&#39;s not only good news for Yahoo, which <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/yahoo-board-approves-11-billion-tumblr-purchase-149661" target="_blank">paid $1.1 billion</a> for Tumblr, but also for brands that are turning to the social marketing channel. And per Tumblr&rsquo;s engagement data, some marketers&rsquo; creative are knocking it out of the park.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve seen significant momentum from advertisers across all verticals,&rdquo; remarked Lee Brown, Tumblr&rsquo;s global head of brand partnerships.</p>
<p>
This Top 20 list below ranks Tumblr sponsored posts (desktop and mobile) and <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/buyers-love-tumblr-love-scale-more-144291" target="_blank">Radar ads</a> based on stats such as reblogs and likes (Tumblr uses &ldquo;notes,&rdquo; which can be either of the two) for the promos&rsquo; first 24 hours on the site. The list below also often refers to social shares the ads have accrued over the course of the year to show how some promos proved to have a long tail.</p>
<p>
<img alt="" src="/files/tt-tumblr-despicable-me-01-2013.gif" style="width: 300px; height: 169px; float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;" /> <strong>1. Despicable Me 2</strong><br />
Universal Pictures&rsquo; <a href="http://despicable-me.tumblr.com/post/52334061183/bob-the-maid-download" target="_blank">playful GIF</a> of a French maid minion has registered 315,000 notes since July, of which 58 percent have been reblogs. That&rsquo;s superb viral, folks. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s in a visual language that people can rip, remix, while representing how they are expressing themselves on a certain day,&rdquo; Brown said.</p>
<p>
<img alt="" src="/files/uploads/SPACER-652.gif" style="width: 500px; height: 1px; " /></p>
<p>
<img alt="" src="/files/tt-tumblr-converse-01-2013.gif" style="width: 300px; float: right; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;" /> <strong>2. Converse</strong><br />
This classic brand&rsquo;s <a href="http://conversemusic.tumblr.com/post/51777758631/shoes-stand-still-sneakers-keep-it-moving" target="_blank">animated GIF</a> featured five pairs ofdancing sneakers. Brilliantly enlisting popular Tumblr user <a href="http://traceloops.tumblr.com/post/60720867667/does-anybody-in-nyc-want-this-wire-face-just-send" target="_blank">Matthias Brown</a>, Converse topped 182,000 notes since the end of May. The GIF got shared at the same rate as Despicable Me 2, per Tumblr. &nbsp;</p>
<p>
<img alt="" src="/files/uploads/SPACER-652.gif" style="width: 500px; height: 1px; " /></p>
<p>
<img alt="" src="/files/tt-tumblr-gatsby-01-2013.gif" style="width: 300px; float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;" /> <strong>3. The Great Gatsby</strong><br />
The Warner Bros. remake drew 152,000 notes with its sponsored post. <a href="http://gatsbymovie.tumblr.com/post/48615793755/prepare-for-the-summer-of-gatsby-in-theaters-may" target="_blank">The GIF</a> highlighted Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby, toasting a 1920s buddy with a glass of bubbly.</p>
<p>
<img alt="" src="/files/uploads/SPACER-652.gif" style="width: 500px; height: 1px; " /></p>
<p>
<strong>4. Ford</strong><br />
<img alt="" src="/files/tt-tumblr-andisbetter-01-2013.jpg" style="width: 300px; float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;" />The carmaker didn&rsquo;t even put its brand on its <a href="http://andisbetter.tumblr.com/post/52650628857" target="_blank">&ldquo;#And Is Better&rdquo; GIF</a>, which featured an irresistible, scribbled message about the Internet and cats.</p>
<p>
<img alt="" src="/files/uploads/SPACER-652.gif" style="width: 500px; height: 1px; " /></p>
<p>
<strong>5. The Home Depot</strong><img alt="" src="/files/tt-tumblr-homedepot-01-2013.jpg" style="width: 300px; float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;" /><br />
For Independence Day, the retailer mashed up a cat meme with Star Wars in a <a href="http://homedepot.tumblr.com/post/49566929173" target="_blank">&ldquo;May the Fourth Be With You&rdquo;</a> ad and picked up 86,000 likes.</p>
<p>
<img alt="" src="/files/uploads/SPACER-652.gif" style="width: 500px; height: 1px; " /></p>
<p>
<strong>6. Hangover Part III<img alt="" src="/files/tt-tumblr-hangover3-01-2013.gif" style="width: 300px; float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;" /></strong><br />
Featuring a looping Zach Galifianakis in a convertible, this road trip franchise probably couldn&rsquo;t go wrong. <a href="http://hangoverpart3.tumblr.com/post/49397270627/alan-is-happy" target="_blank">Its GIF</a> raked in 76,000 notes despite the flick&rsquo;s poor critical reception.</p>
<p>
<img alt="" src="/files/uploads/SPACER-652.gif" style="width: 500px; height: 1px; " /></p>
<p>
<strong>7. One Direction<img alt="" src="/files/tt-tumblr-1d-01-2013.gif" style="width: 300px; float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;" /></strong><br />
This Sony-led effort got 113,000 likes, as one of the boy band members gets slapped by his mate. It&rsquo;s<a href="http://1dthisisus-timeline.tumblr.com/post/58530965201" target="_blank"> an odd ad</a>, but if you have a tween niece, you&rsquo;ll know such 1-D details matter very little.</p>
<p>
<img alt="" src="/files/uploads/SPACER-652.gif" style="width: 500px; height: 1px; " /></p>
<p>
<strong>8. Comedy Central Roast</strong><br />
Nick Kroll&rsquo;s <a href="http://comedycentral.tumblr.com/post/59714814517/open-your-eyes-and-click-here-to-watch-a-new-clip" target="_blank">James Franco GIF</a> (&ldquo;if at any point tonight [he] fully opens his eyes, there&rsquo;ll be six more weeks of summer&rdquo;) killed, with 75,000 likes.<br />
<img alt="" src="/files/tt-tumblr-comedycentral-01-2013.gif" style="width: 300px; float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;" /><img alt="" src="/files/tt-tumblr-comedycentral-02-2013.gif" style="width: 300px; height: 169px; float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;" /></p>
<p>
<img alt="" src="/files/uploads/SPACER-652.gif" style="width: 500px; height: 1px; " /></p>
<p>
<strong>9. Trolli<img alt="" src="/files/tt-tumblr-trolli-01-2013.gif" style="width: 300px; float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;" /></strong><br />
This candy brand&rsquo;s <a href="http://www.weirdlyawesome.com/post/62269983335/a-boy-and-his-dog-the-story-gets-twisted" target="_blank">image</a> of a curly, red-headed boy rubbing his head on a dog made of gum sums up Tumblr in a(n) (unusually sweet) nutshell.</p>
<p>
<img alt="" src="/files/uploads/SPACER-652.gif" style="width: 500px; height: 1px; " /></p>
<p>
<strong>10. The Purge<img alt="" src="/files/tt-tumblr-survivethenight-01-2013.gif" style="width: 300px; float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;" /></strong><br />
Universal scores again, as this horror movie&rsquo;s sponsored post put together <a href="http://universalhorrorfilms.tumblr.com/post/52069149574/get-tickets-http-bit-ly-17fp9sh" target="_blank">nine GIFs</a>. Expect many films to copy this mashup tactic in the future.</p>
<p>
<img alt="" src="/files/uploads/SPACER-652.gif" style="width: 500px; height: 1px; " /></p>
<p>
<strong>11. Veterans United <img alt="" src="/files/tt-tumblr-veteransunited-01-2013.gif" style="width: 300px; float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;" /></strong><br />
This home loans brand, which specializes in military vets, ran <a href="http://veteransunited.tumblr.com/post/52951033923/help-us-honor-the-real-heroes" target="_blank">an ad </a>in July that struck a patriotic chord with Tumblr users.</p>
<p>
<img alt="" src="/files/uploads/SPACER-652.gif" style="width: 500px; height: 1px; " /></p>
<p>
<strong>12. Dior<img alt="" src="/files/tt-tumblr-dior-01-2013.gif" style="width: 300px; float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;" /></strong><br />
The French luxury firm extended its campaign featuring the universally admired Natalie Portman with a <a href="http://dior.tumblr.com/post/61509836624" target="_blank">GIF ad</a> of an actress (it&rsquo;s not clear if it&rsquo;s actually Portman) doing her lips with one of its red lipsticks. More than 52,000 notes were inspired.</p>
<p>
&nbsp;</p>
<p>
<img alt="" src="/files/uploads/SPACER-652.gif" style="width: 500px; height: 1px; " /></p>
<p>
<strong>13. AT&amp;T<img alt="" src="/files/tt-tumblr-att-01-2013.gif" style="width: 300px; float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;" /></strong><br />
The telecom&rsquo;s &ldquo;#ItsNotComplicated&rdquo; initiative has practically become a cultural reference point thanks to its consistently funny TV spots featuring a circle of lovable kids. Tumblr users approve, too, sharing a &ldquo;Moms give the best hugs&rdquo; <a href="http://att.tumblr.com/post/50222390524/who-gives-the-best-hugs-moms-do-of-course-happy" target="_blank">GIF ad</a> on Mother&rsquo;s Day 50,000 times.</p>
<p>
&nbsp;</p>
<p>
<img alt="" src="/files/uploads/SPACER-652.gif" style="width: 500px; height: 1px; " /></p>
<p>
<strong>14. Jansport<img alt="" src="/files/tt-tumblr-jansport-01-2013.gif" style="width: 300px; float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;" /></strong><br />
Sometimes the cleverest ideas are truly simple, as this firm utilized <a href="http://jansport.tumblr.com/post/56114575242" target="_blank">animation</a> to show off its signature backpack product in a variety of colors. An image of a female teen holding her bag close to the ground is oddly fun as her Jansport switches from green to purple to aqua blue and so on as the rest of the scene stays the same.</p>
<p>
&nbsp;</p>
<p>
<img alt="" src="/files/uploads/SPACER-652.gif" style="width: 500px; height: 1px; " /></p>
<p>
<strong>15. Loiter Squad<img alt="" src="/files/tt-tumblr-loiter-squad-01-2013.gif" style="width: 300px; float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;" /></strong><br />
The Adult Swim show employed its star, Tyler, The Creator, <a href="http://loitersquad.com/post/44324655837" target="_blank">dancing up a storm</a> to create Tumblr buzz. And it worked like a charm, picking up 60,000 notes.</p>
<p>
<img alt="" src="/files/uploads/SPACER-652.gif" style="width: 500px; height: 1px; " /></p>
<p>
<strong>16. About Time</strong><br />
Universal Studios makes another appearance on the chart for its romantic comedy about time travel. With <a href="http://abouttimefilm.tumblr.com/post/64983458575/my-whole-life-depends-on-it" target="_blank">a GIF </a>garnering 49,000 notes, now there&rsquo;s even more proof that a smiling Rachel McAdams doesn&rsquo;t exactly send folks running.<br />
<img alt="" src="/files/tt-tumblr-abouttime-02-2013.gif" style="width: 300px; height: 169px; float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;" /><img alt="" src="/files/tt-tumblr-abouttime-01-2013.gif" style="width: 300px; float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;" /></p>
<p>
<img alt="" src="/files/uploads/SPACER-652.gif" style="width: 500px; height: 1px; " /></p>
<p>
<strong>17. Hulu<img alt="" src="/files/tt-tumblr-hulu-01-2013.gif" style="width: 300px; float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;" /></strong><br />
The online videos site promoted the availability of the 34-minute French classic short film &ldquo;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Red_Balloon" target="_blank">The Red Balloon</a>,&rdquo; and <a href="http://thisistheendmovie.tumblr.com/post/52751368569/the-moment-you-realized-you-left-your-phone-at" target="_blank">the GIF</a> proved to have a long tail. While it charts near the bottom of the Top 20 for the ad&rsquo;s first 24 hours, the promo has over time reeled in 320,000 notes.</p>
<p>
<img alt="" src="/files/uploads/SPACER-652.gif" style="width: 500px; height: 1px; " /></p>
<p>
<strong>18. Sony<img alt="" src="/files/tt-tumblr-this-is-the-end-01-2013.gif" style="width: 300px; float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;" /></strong><br />
A somewhat harrowing GIF of &ldquo;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Is_the_End" target="_blank">This Is The End</a>&rdquo; actor Craig Robinson captured the imagination of Tumblr&#39;s legion.</p>
<p>
<img alt="" src="/files/uploads/SPACER-652.gif" style="width: 500px; height: 1px; " /></p>
<p>
<strong>19. Fresh Step<img alt="" src="/files/tt-tumblr-smartestcats-01-2013.gif" style="width: 300px; float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;" /></strong><br />
<a href="http://smartestcats.tumblr.com/post/57019589029/skipper-and-otto-are-literally-party-animals-when" target="_blank">Two cats deejaying</a>. While that statement alone defines the meaning of the idiom &ldquo;enough said,&rdquo; it worth knowing it has gotten 52,000 notes.</p>
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<img alt="" src="/files/tt-tumblr-walkingdead-01-2013.gif" style="width: 300px; float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;" /> <strong>20. AMC</strong><br />
For &ldquo;The Walking Dead&rdquo; premiere, the cable channel utilized the <a href="http://walkingdeadamc.tumblr.com/post/63887040688/the-walking-dead-returns-tonight-at-9-8c-on-amc" target="_blank">nine-tile GIF</a> approach that was also employed by marketers for &ldquo;The Purge.&rdquo;</p>
Technology#ItsNotComplicatedAbout timeAdult SwimAmcAt&tChristopher HeineConverseCraig RobinsonDiorFordFourth of JulyFresh StepHangover IIIHuluJames FrancoJansportLee BrownLoiter SquadMother's DayNatalie PortmanNick KrullOne DirectionRachel McAdamsSocialSony PicturesStar WarsThe Great GatsbyThe HangoverThe Hangover 3The Home DepotThe PurgeThe Red BalloonThe Walking DeadThis Is The EndTrolliTumblrTyler, The CreatorUniversal PicturesVeterans UnitedWarner Bros.YahooZach GalifianakisMon, 09 Dec 2013 02:44:44 +0000154354 at http://www.adweek.comAdidas Makes Gains Among Black Consumers, L'Oréal Lagshttp://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/adidas-makes-gains-among-black-consumers-loreal-lags-151446
Christopher Heine<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/adidas-hed-2013.jpg"> <p>
Adidas, E*Trade, Geico and Land Rover are a few of the brands that have made the biggest gains in terms of positive awareness among black teenagers and adults during the last year, per <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/television/newmediametrics-weighs-new-tv-season-135340" target="_blank">NewMediaMetrics</a> (NMM).</p>
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NMM, which surveyed 3,400 African Americans ages 13 to 64 about brand-related &quot;<a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/television/newmediametrics-weighs-new-tv-season-135340" target="_blank">emotional attachment</a>,&quot; found that Land Rover was the most popular brand across product categories while Lexus, Nike and Mercedes-Benz trailed closely behind as the luxury car niche showed well.</p>
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Honda and Toyota were the most popular economy car brands, while Hennessy (beer/alcohol), Walmart (retail), Starbucks (beverages), Clorox (households), Kelloggs (edible consumer-packaged goods), Aflac (insurance), Visa (credit cards), Charles Schwab (financial) and Joe&#39;s Crab Shack (restaurants) led their respective categories.</p>
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Overall, 35 brands improved their demo-focused NMM index scores by 15 points or more <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/study-blacks-more-attached-media-brands-whites-142549" target="_blank">compared to last year</a>, said <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/television/newmediametrics-gary-reisman-wants-fix-pilot-season-147360" target="_blank">Gary Reisman</a>, CEO of the New York-based marketing and research firm. He said Kohls, Verizon, Oscar Mayer Lunchables, Hotels.com and Expedia are other examples.</p>
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While nonanalysts might be surprised that Converse beats more prolific shoe sellers like Reebok and New Balance when it comes to favorable awareness with African Americans, Reisman said that result jibed with what he&#39;s seen in the space. &quot;Converse has done some fantastic product integrations and nontraditional marketing and advertising,&quot; he explained.</p>
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Brands losing their emotional connection to black consumers during the last 12 months, per NMM, include L&#39;Or&eacute;al, Prudential, Farmers, Travelers, Nationwide, Droid and Vonage.</p>
Advertising & BrandingAflacAfrican-Americansblack AmericansCharles SchwabCloroxChristopher Heinedemographic researchDemographicsDroidE*tradeFarmersGeicoHennessyJoe's Crab ShackKelloggsL'OréalLand RoverLexusMercedes-benzNationwideNewMediaMetricsNikePrudentialResearchStarbucksTravelersVisaVonageWalmartPackaged GoodsFri, 26 Jul 2013 11:17:21 +0000151446 at http://www.adweek.comConverse Has More Springfield in Its Step With New Simpsons Sneakershttp://www.adweek.com/adfreak/converse-has-more-springfield-its-step-new-simpsons-sneakers-150677
T.L. Stanley<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/simpsons-sneakers-ep_0.jpg"> <p>
Let&#39;s say it like Comic Book Guy: Best. Collaboration. Ever. Fox&#39;s dysfunctional yet loving animated family, The Simpsons, have joined with Converse for a line of screen-printed Chuck Taylor sneakers. Through Converse retailers and Journeys.com, you can get your paws on these colorful high-tops festooned with Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie, catch phrases, chalk scrawls and more. The Simpsons, in production now on its 25th season, is the longest-running scripted show in TV history and one of the biggest licensing hits of the past few decades. It&#39;s a multibillion-dollar franchise in swag alone, with plenty of footwear over the years. You didn&#39;t have puffy, oversized Bart-head slippers? What a sad childhood that must&#39;ve been. The Chuck Taylor All Star collection comes in adult and kid sizes. All together now: Woo-hoo! More images below.</p>
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Advertising & BrandingTelevisionConverseFootwearFoxNetworksT.L. StanleyRetailCreativeTue, 25 Jun 2013 15:04:22 +0000150677 at http://www.adweek.com